


A New Kind of Crazy

by CheesyNinja4ever



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:21:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29522886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheesyNinja4ever/pseuds/CheesyNinja4ever
Summary: Crashing into a recycling bin was not something I ever expected to be doing, but my father always did have a twisted sense of humor. After a fight with Zeus, Dionysus finds himself in rather tight situation. (After the events of Trials of Apollo. I don't own Percy Jackson)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Crashing into a recycling bin was not something I ever expected to be doing, but my father always did have a twisted sense of humor. Oh, it just had to be full of empty wine bottles, didn’t it? Well, it could be worse, I just don’t know how. I turned my head skyward and started screaming at my father about the unfairness of it all. That was when I realized something very strange and looked down at my clenched hands. No no nononono. “You …” I began before seeing a group of monsters closing in on me. Not again. I bolted, cursing my father with all my might as I ran away from the monsters. My legs already started throbbing in pain, still bleeding from the cuts that the glass had caused. I took a deep breath in and was about to fight them the best I could when an unexpected blast of water knocked them all down. “Do I never get a break?” a painfully familiar voice whined. Very funny Dad, very funny. “I’m Percy. What’s your name?” he asked calmly as he fought the monsters. I stayed silent, not sure how to respond. After quickly finishing off the monsters, he walked over to me. “Don’t talk much? That’s cool. I’ll just take a look at whatever identification thing you have with you.” he assured me softly. 

“I … have this?” I mumbled lamely, handing him the passport Zeus had “kindly” made me. 

“Ok … Parker Johnson? Wow, that sounds like something Mr. D would have made up!” he laughed, not noticing my discomfort. Wow, Dad. You really put a lot of effort into making my life miserable, didn’t you? I stumbled forward, attempting to hide my embarrassment, and promptly fell unconscious.

I woke up in the back of a car. “Where am I?” I yelled, pushing myself upright, “Where are you taking me?” The driver laughed at my sudden outburst and I remembered everything that had happened.

Furious with how quickly Apollo’s punishment was over, I had stormed over to my father as soon as possible and demanded him to just end my stupid punishment already. It was likely the most crazy thing I had ever done. Even Ares looked at me like I was a hot headed idiot. “You think that the punishment was not harsh enough, Diosynsis? Maybe I should give one to you and see whether it will work any better than your current one!” Zeus boomed. 

“No, wait!” I begged in vain. He raised his lightning bolt and I closed my eyes, preparing for the pain. Zeus did not disappoint, and soon I was falling through the sky.

“You’re going to Camp Half-Blood,” he stated. This is not happening!

“W-what?” I stammered nervously. I needed to know if Zeus had really gone and did what I thought he did. I knew all the evidence was already there, but I was in denial.

“Ok, I’ll not beat around the bush with you. You’re a demigod and Camp Half-Blood is one of the only safe places from the monsters that will hunt you down,” he explained. Oh no, not again! “We should be there in an hour, but that likely won’t happen. Demigods never seem to get a moment of peace when they want one. Better buckle your seat belt, because something is sure to go wrong.” 

One wild car ride, a group of blood-thirsty Aeternae, and a thrown up snack bar later, we arrived at Camp Half-Blood. It could have been a better entrance, but I was still too car-sick to care. “I found this one and brought him over. You guys won’t believe his name!” Percy chirped, unaffected by the long, wild car ride. Chiron trotted over, shaking his head.

“Could you explain to us where you found him and why he looks like he’s about to throw up?” he asked angrily.

“Found him running from monsters near my house. He recently went on his first demigod car ride, apparently,” he explained, walking me over to my old friend. I saw his mouth moving, but the words sounded like they were said underwater. With no further warning, I slipped into unconsciousness for the second time in one day. “Parker’s waking up, guys!” somebody laughed nearby when I opened my eyes again. “You gave us all quite the fright when you did that!” I pushed myself into a sitting position to find Percy staring back at me. “You woke up just in time for Capture the Flag! That was the game where I was claimed by Poseidon! You’ll love it, Park!” he teased. Seeing the look on my face he stammered, “Oh, s-sorry. You probably won’t l-like being ... called that. I didn’t … think through that one though. Sorry, Parker.” before recovering and joking, “Well, at least you got to participate in the camp tradition of being called the wrong name even without Mr. D being around!”

“... Yes, I guess. When do I start?” I asked awkwardly.

“Now,” he replied without missing a beat. “Come on, Parker! Oh, by the way, you’ll be in the Hermes cabin until you are claimed by your godly parent yada yada boring stuff. Let’s go!” I tagged along behind him, limping slightly. After the rules were explained by Chiron, we started playing with me on the red team. I had to admit that it was very different actually being in the game from watching it happen. I’m mortal now, I could die playing this and the only thing that will happen to the person who kills me is getting a week without dessert. It was not helping that there was a thunderstorm happening and I was trying not to flinch each time lightning struck the ground. That was when one of them hit me and I literally started crackling with electricity. Zeus’s sign glowed above my head as everybody stopped fighting to stare at me. “It is determined,” Chiron said, almost numbly as all the campers went on their knees. “Hail, Parker Johnson, Son of Zeus,” I could see obvious shock on everybody’s faces. The son of Poseidon had come to them after beating the Minotaur without any idea what he was doing and had a fight with a child of Ares before getting claimed. I had just stumbled in from a rather mild car ride and fainted, only later to be struck by lightning. It was not exactly impressive for a son of Zeus. 

“Um … thanks?” I mumbled before accidently electrocuting a nearby bush. “Oops?” I apologized lamely “This is cool and all, but I’ll just go to bed now.” I limped all the way back to my new cabin and slumped into my bed, exhausted. Being a demigod was even more tiring than I remembered and it didn’t help that I had tried to force those memories out of my head when I had become a god. With a long sigh, I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep.

My eyes snapped open in the morning, a hazy nightmare haunting the back of my mind. The first thing I noticed was a packet of seeds with a note on them that read: From one confused, antisocial demigod to another. Enjoy your gardening!

I didn’t know why such a small gesture made me feel so much better. Unfortunately, there was still that nagging little voice in my head whispering, You don’t deserve this. You never cared about any of them, why should they care about you? You don’t belong here. You aren’t one of them, not anymore. Pushing the voice back down, I held the grape seeds to my chest, holding back tears. I walked outside my personal cabin and started planting them like it was a second nature. “Hey,” Percy mumbled next to me, “I guess this makes you like my cousin, not that it matters with gods. Want some water for the …”

“Grapes,” I answered to his unspoken question. He shuffled his feet for a bit before handing me a watering can. 

“I don’t know much about gardening. I wish I could help more,” he commented, desperately trying to have some kind of a conversation with me. “How could you tell, with the annoying demigod dyslexia stuff? How did you even find your cabin? We forgot to tell you where it was!” Oops. I stiffened up, afraid he would make some kind of connection. After all, he had helped Apollo when he was turned mortal. 

“Um… Well…” I stammered, trying to decide whether I should tell him or not.

“Sorry, I know you don’t talk much. I won’t pressure you. Just promise to tell me more about yourself at some point,” he sighed after my lack of a proper response. 

“I swear on the River Styx that I’ll tell you more about myself eventually,” I blurted out quickly before mentally kicking myself for my stupidity. Percy raised one eyebrow, but thankfully did not comment on my slight slip-up. “Why haven’t you gone back to your home, anyways?” I asked hypocritically. 

“Well, I was planning to come over this summer, so you just hurried my plans along a bit. Come on, or we’ll both be late to practice! Chiron said I could work with you, since we both are the only people in our cabins!” he answered almost immediately. Why me? The day started with me dragging my sorry, aching body to training and ended with me practically crawling back to the cabin with an even more aching body. I would have used all my remaining energy to sprint to bed, but the sight near the cabin made me pause in shock and gasp. The seeds had sprouted into full grown vines with small grapes on them. There was a note beside the makeshift garden, reading: To a fellow lonely grape planting demigod. From Cabin 12. 

“Pollux,” I whispered. I wiped away the tears that started forming at the thought of my other son, Castor, who had died in battle. I knew better than to show weakness or pain. I stumbled into my bed, my heart heavy with grief. The next few days passed with the same kind of pattern. Wake up from a quickly forgotten nightmare, drag myself to personal training with the demigod son of Poseidon, barely eat anything and drink too much soda, collapse into my bed. Even after a whole week of this, I still barely talked, knowing it was more likely for me to give myself away if I did. I also still didn’t understand why people seemed so keen on giving me presents. In just that week, the Zeus cabin had a garden that could almost rival Cabin 4. Somehow, the entire camp had discovered that I liked gardening and everybody was sending seeds. One of the few perks of being a son of Zeus, I guessed. The garden had a vast assortment of chives, fruit, vegetables, flowers and even some saplings. Some people even started rumors that I was actually a son of Demeter and Zeus, and was a secret minor god spying on all of them. They were only partly wrong, I guess.

After around a month of pain, pain and more pain, I got my first quest. Like the idiot I was, I stayed quiet when Chiron asked who I wanted to join me. The full force of my bad luck prevailed and Percy said he would come with me and Pollux also volunteered. I was a hairbreadth away from making a giant flashing SOS sign for Zeus and hope for the best. “Take care of my plants for me if I don’t make it out alive,” I begged to Chiron. 

“I’ll do it, Park!” one of the campers sneered. “I’ll even take the quest with Percy Jackson! A wimp like you, son of Zeus or not, doesn’t deserve that kind of honor!” That. Was. It. 

“Silence!” I yelled, lightning forming in my hands. “This is my quest! I’ll show you! I’ll show you all!” They all stared at me, Percy had an impressed look on his face, but the rest looked plain shocked. “I’ll do it,” I whispered, “I’ll complete it, just you wait and see.”


	2. Chapter 2

Having packed all the items I needed, I got ready for a long and painful quest. “Let’s go now,” I demanded. “I need to do this.” Percy just shook his head and mumbled something about cars. “What?” I growled, desperately trying to hide how much one stupid quest meant to me. 

“Never mind, let’s go. What’s the quest anyways?” he groaned. 

“That’s the thing. I don’t know. I was just given this prophecy and told ‘good luck’!” I complained, showing him the prophecy. It had been giving me a headache the entire time.

_ The mighty shall fall from the sky, _

_ A falling star will tell you why, _

_ The first fallen must lead the way, _

_ Or forever lost the fallen will stay, _

_ Travel towards the lifeless sea, _

_ For that is where an ally will be. _

“Ugh, dyslexia, right! I’ll just ask Chiron to read it out for me and be right back,” he sighed. Only a few moments later, he came back and asked, “Parker, you ready?” I will probably never live down what I answered. 

“Yes, I’m ready Percy. I’ve been ready for the last half an hour,” I replied.  _ Zeus is laughing at me, isn’t he. I just replied directly to the name he made up for me and called Percy by his correct name in the same sentence.  _

“Good, because we are going to catch a plane and go to the Dead Sea!” he said, dragging me to my feet. “Have fun, Park Wimp!” the same camper from earlier jeered. “Watch out for the car sickness!” I growled and took out something to drink for the trip.  _ Diet coke. Why am I not surprised?  _ “Ok. Let’s go to the Dead Sea,” I agreed, ignoring the rude camper. 

  
  


The trip to the airport and the plane ride was actually frighteningly mild, and even the mortal passengers looked like they could feel something waiting for the right time to make a big appearance. If the monsters’ new tactic is to make us all go insane by the lack of attacks, I hate to admit it, but it’s probably working. I have downed 3 cans of soda, played Pac-Man 12 times, watched 2 movies, solved a Sudoku puzzle and even dared to have a look in the mirror. I didn’t look in the mirror again after that. I was almost … afraid of what I saw. While I looked at my body the voice had amplified to a scream in my head. When I looked at my thin, pale face it screamed,  _ Imposter! This is not you! You do not belong in this body!  _ As I ran my hand through my messy, brown hair, it yelled,  _ This is not yours! You do not deserve to be one of them!  _ Tearing my eyes away from the demigod imposter in the mirror, I went back to my seat and fell asleep. We arrived at the Dead Sea just in time to see somebody fall from the sky right into the water. I wondered what in the world the Mist turned that into, but now was not the time to find out. Percy controlled the water so that it moved the unconscious … whatever he was … to the shore and we all checked for injuries. With a loud moan, the boy woke up and asked, “Where am I?”

“Dead Sea. You had quite the fall. What happened?” Percy said, doing all talking. Pollux never was a talkative kid, and it only worsened after …  _ No. Not now. Right now I deal with this. I can grieve later, when I am alone. _

“There was … fighting. Yes, lots of fighting. I got hit and the next thing I know, I’m falling from the sky,” he groaned, pushing himself to his feet. “Ow, why does everything hurt?” he complained. I winced in sympathy, remembering my belly flop into the recycling bin. 

“What’s your name?” I asked curiously. He immediately looked furious. 

“What do you mean, what is my name?” he growled, frowning. He stepped towards me and immediately collapsed to the ground. “Ow! Zeus really knows how to put electricity in his lightning bolts! I think he must have thrown at least fifty of those things around Olympus!” All three of us stared at him, wondering what in the world was going on. Pollux was the first to ask the question that was likely in all of our minds.

“What do you mean? Who are you?” he asked, getting straight to the point. Scowling, the boy staggered back to his feet and drew himself to his full height.

“Enough of this foolishness!” he declared his eyes looking like he wanted to murder us. “I am Hades! Ruler of the Underworld and I will not stand for this nonsense!” 

“The mighty shall fall from the sky!’ I gasped. “Hades, how many gods were hit by the lightning bolts?” As we waited for a response we all looked at Hades. It was strange seeing him this young compared to looking at the old, weary Ruler of the Underworld. 

“All of them.” Hades finally replied. “Even Zeus. Hermes stole one of his bolts and threw it at him.” He suddenly turned and looked at me suspiciously, causing me to feel like a little kid standing in front of a broken vase. “Do I know you?” he asked curiously. “You look familiar.”

“That’s our current quest leader, Parker. He’s one of Zeus’s sons,” Percy explained. I made a mental note to thank him later. Percy shakely handed Hades a hand mirror. I guess somebody had to let him know.

“What is this, Percy? Tell me immediately!” he screamed as soon as he looked at his reflection.  _ It’s ok. I was at that stage just a few hours ago.  _ I wanted to comfort the horrified Underworld king, but I knew that it would likely arouse even more suspicion. Instead I just watched as Percy and even Pollux attempted to comfort the now practically powerless Hades. 

“We need to get him to safety. The monsters are probably coming any moment,” I mumbled to Pollux. 

My son...  _ Not your friend. Not even your ally. Just the result of a night I can’t even remember over the drunken blur of alcohol.  _ Pollux turned to me and ordered me to return with Hades to Camp Half Blood while they searched for clues. Even though I was the leader, I was obviously the weakest link of the group. 

“Ok,” I sighed knowing better than to complain. “Come on, Hades. We’ve got a plane to catch.” Only half an hour later, we were already arguing. Hades almost constantly declared that he did not believe whatever I had told Percy and that he would expose me for the liar I was sooner or later. Exhausted by his constant questioning, I drank more soda to stay awake. 

“I know you. I just can’t put my finger on it! Just save us both the trouble and tell me!” he declared during our first rest stop, grabbing me by my pathetically skinny neck.  _ I should really eat food more often.  _

“Hades! Please. I’m who I say I am!” I pleaded. His eyes only narrowed more. 

“Funny. I don’t seem to remember you actually introducing yourself. Tell me who you work for, you fool of a spy!” he yelled, his breath laced with the familiar scent of alcohol. “I know that Zeus has not had a demigod child lately. I should know, he won’t stop complaining about how Hera hasn’t let him out of her sight. Anyways, he’s more into dryads lately!”

“You caught me, Uncle,” I sighed. “I fell from Olympus, just like you. I fell even before the fight you talked about.”

“Dionysus? What… Why… How?” he stammered, letting go of my poor neck.  _ That’s going to hurt in the morning.  _ “I couldn’t recognize you. You look … different.” Shrugging it off, I walked towards the car. 

“I’ll drive. I don’t want us to get pulled over because your drunken ass is sitting in front of the steering wheel,” I laughed, trying to ignore how strange that sounded coming from me. If you really want to know what the trip was like, I won’t bore with all the normal demigod craziness details. All the monsters that didn’t attack during the trip to the Dead Sea had their revenge on the way back on top of the usual amount expected from any demigod activity. Just before we went to the camp, I pulled over to the nearest shop and told Hades that he was going to go undercover. The boy that went into the shop was an emo punk. The one that left could have fooled me for a son of Apollo. My mouth opened and closed without making a sound. “Hey,” he mumbled awkwardly, “Does this work?” I nodded and drove straight to Camp Half Blood before my brain could malfunction. Every spare moment, I spared a glance at the nervously smiling boy licking an ice-cream in bright, colorful clothing and wondering whether this really was Hades. 

Dropping him off right outside of the campgrounds, I told him, “Don’t worry. They aren’t actually all that bad when you get to know them.”  _ Who was I becoming? _ Before Hades had a chance to respond, I practically shoved him out of the car, slamming the door behind him, and drove off.  _ I, a wine god, am very sober despite having several chances to get drunk. Hades, who has always been a moody goth, is currently at Camp Half Blood looking like a son of Apollo. What next?  _ I felt like I needed a lot more soda than what was in my bag if I wanted to get out of this train wreck without going insane.


	3. Chapter 3

I came back to Percy and Pollux to find them surrounded by growling leopards.  _ Not now. Please, any time but now! _ “What’s going on?” I shouted. My face paled as a group of Maenads jumped out from their hiding places, roughly holding me in place. “Are you with these two?” one of them questioned. 

“Yes,” I stated calmly, looking them in the eyes. “I am their leader. We need your help.”

“Only if you help us,” she negotiated. “We are looking for a missing god. Our lord, Dionysus.”  _ Well, you found me, congratulations.  _

“My dad? You’re looking for my dad?” Pollux asked. The Maenads thankfully let go of me and the leopards stopped growling. “I haven’t seen him since he went off to negotiate his punishment. We can help you.” 

“Son of Dionysus, please forgive us for our ignorance. We humbly ask for help finding your father,” the one who questioned me declared. I rubbed my sore arms awkwardly, trying to look as small as possible. 

“Ok? Sure?” Pollux mumbled, looking uncomfortable. “No hard feelings.” I let out a mental sigh as they started giving Pollux all the information they had. Their words further confirmed my suspicions as they talked about being unable to contact any of the Olympians. 

“I think I know what is going on, guys,” I declared. All eyes turned to me and I tried not to curl in a ball to hide myself from all these people who knew me more than they realised. “Somehow, somebody has managed to turn all the Olympians mortal. That’s what the prophecy meant by ‘The mighty shall fall from the sky’!” 

“The real questions are how they are that powerful and why they are doing it,” Pollux decided, and I had to agree. “Do I know you?” one of the younger Maenads asked me suspiciously, staring at my face. “Have we met before?” Percy gave me another one of his ‘ _ What are you hiding?’  _ looks, but I didn’t answer the question. 

  
  


That night, we camped out at the Maenads’ base. For the first time in my life, I stayed a day with the Maenads without getting drunk or even having a party. Instead, I slept on the grass while Pollux had the time of his life. “They sure know how to make their guests feel welcome, right?” Percy groaned sarcastically. I didn’t reply and just pulled out a soda can. Sighing, Percy continued the one-way conversation by saying, “You really don’t talk much, do you, Parker? You’re a real mystery. Practically everybody we’ve met on this quest are sure they recognize you from somewhere, and each time you’ve stiffened up and not answered their question. I don’t know what you’re hiding, but I hope you will eventually tell me.”

Long after Percy had fallen asleep, I was still lying on the grass, wide awake.  _ “The deal still stands,”  _ A voice that had contacted me during my trip back whispered,  _ “I can make this so much easier, Dionysus, all you have to do is say yes.” _

_ “I still don’t believe you. You could just be tricking me for your own benefit. Tell me what you get from this deal. Maybe then I’ll believe that you won’t turn on me,” I mentally answered. _

_ “I will gain power and you will be happier. See? This works in both of our favors.” it whispered persuasively, “Another has already had their life improved by saying yes.”  _

A figure appeared, with a grey hood covering their face. They held out their hand and whispered, with the exact same voice that I had heard in my head just seconds ago, “What do you say? Who are you? The uncaring, emotionless wine god known as Dionysus or the shy, awkward demigod known as Parker? You can’t be both, so which way will it be?” 

“Just give me a bit to decide,” I answered softly. I looked at the tent where the Maenads were still partying away like nothing was wrong. I then turned to Percy Jackson, who I now hated a lot less than I wanted to, and finally the tent where Pollux was now sleeping. I closed my eyes, thinking back to all my time as a god. All those long centuries seemed dull and lifeless compared to my short time as a mortal. Opening my eyes, I turned back towards the cloaked figure and took his hand. Without a second of hesitation, I boldly declared, “I don’t think we’ve properly met. I’m Parker Johnson, son of Zeus. My friends, Pollux and Percy, are asleep right now, so you won’t be able to meet them right now.”

I just managed to see a smile from behind the figure’s hood as it replied, “I thought you would say that, Parker. I do believe that it’s absolutely lovely to meet you.” Everything started rapidly fading from sight and my legs felt like they were made of jelly. My memories started being replaced, first slowly then quickly escalating. 

  
_ My mother died giving birth to me, but the doctors managed to save my life through a miracle procedure. My step-father never forgave me, meaning I spent most of my life in foster care. After confronting my dad about how he treated me, he beat me up and threw me into a recycling bin filled with empty wine bottles.  _ My brain was now supplying memories to fill in any gaps. My entire body screamed that these memories were mine, that they were right, even as my soul cried for me to see that they were all lies. I collapsed onto the ground exhausted for a reason I couldn’t quite seem to remember. I was Parker Johnson, the demigod son of Zeus, and when a small voice told me that I had once been someone else, I ignored it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your support! I will post the next chapter as soon as possible!


	4. Chapter 4

“Parker, wake up! I need to tell you something,” Pollux yelled in my ear as he shook me awake.

“What do you want!” I moaned sleepily, trying to remember what I had been dreaming about. Just like every other time, I could not remember anything. I was sure it had been an important dream, but I guessed that it could not be that important if I could not remember it. 

“Parker, we are friends, right?” he asked nervously. My head started aching when I tried remembering exactly why I was friends with him, so I just assumed it was because he had volunteered to help me on my quest. 

“Yes, we are friends. Why do you ask?” I responded. He looked at me guiltily before admitting something that broke my heart for a reason I could not quite understand.

“The Maenads asked me to stay at their base with them and become their new leader. I want to say yes, but I can’t just abandon you two without saying anything,” he replied. I closed my eyes, trying to stop my tears. I didn’t know why I cared about him so much, but I knew in my heart that for some reason, he meant the world to me. I knew what I had to do, and I only hesitated for a few minutes before understanding what I had to say.

“I am fine if you stay here as long as you are happy and promise to be safe,” I answered calmly, wiping away the tears in my eyes. “Promise me that you will stay safe and happy and I will not stop you from doing this.” I went still when he ran up to me and hugged me. 

“Thanks, Park! How in the world can I thank you?” he laughed, grinning like crazy, “I promise!” As I wrapped my arms around him and said my goodbyes, I didn’t even feel mad that he used that nickname. 

“Just be safe and be happy, that’s all I ask,” I sobbed as he woke up Percy to say goodbye. My heart felt like breaking into a million pieces as we walked away from the Maenads’ base back to the car. The empty, Pollux-shaped space in the back of the car stole away any kind of conversation, leaving behind awkward, uncomfortable silence. Since neither of us knew where to go, we took the plane back to New York and hoped for the best. “We need to find the first Greek god that fell, they will guide the way!” Percy realized, “Why didn’t I notice that sooner? Hades saw everybody else get hit, so it can’t be him. Any ideas?” For some reason I started running towards an old, worn-down building with a peeling sign that read, “The Evening Star”. Inside, a man approached me and asked, “Are you here to find a falling star?”

“Yes!” I laughed, surprised at how easy this was. He nodded at me, smiling widely.

“Well, then come with me! You have come to the right place!” he declared. After we entered the room he had led me to, he handed me a wine glass. “Here! The story I am about to tell you is not for sober minds!” he laughed. I politely pushed it away. 

“Thank you, but I’m twelve years old. Do you have anything else?” I politely asked, afraid to be rude to my host.

“Oh?” he replied, “Is that so? I’m so sorry! Would you prefer Diet Coke, by chance?” I nodded and gratefully put away the glass of wine and took the cup of soda from his outstretched hand. When I noticed he was waiting for me to take a drink, I quickly drank the entire cup. “Ok. I will now tell you everything you need to know.” he said, relaxing considerably, “There once was a foolish boy who trusted the bad guys.” My drugged mind could barely understand what was happening, even as he stood up and tied me to the chair. “This foolish boy didn’t notice all the signs that there was something strange, and he drank the drink that the bad guys gave him. Now, the boy is going to have a nice little sleep as the bad guys put him with all the other foolish children. How do you like the story?” he continued, grinning widely. I simply stared at him dully, trying to understand what was going on.  _ Just a little nap, then I’ll try to find out what is happening. Yes, a nap sounds nice. _

  
  


I woke up in a cold, dirty cell with a splitting headache. “Hello?” I groaned, “Anybody there?”

“Around time you woke up, D,” a gruff voice answered from the other side of the cell. I stared at the silhouette of the person talking to me, trying to make sense of their words. 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I asked my words slightly slurred by the drugs.  _ Wait … drugs! I was drugged! _ “Who are you? Where am I? What do you want?” I screamed.

“Please not you too, D!” the voice moaned. I stood up slowly, trying to see who was talking to me. As I got closer to them, there was a strange feeling of deja vu when I saw the frowning teenager. 

“Have we met before?” I asked hesitantly. “Is your name … Lester, by chance?” The teen groaned angrily. 

“He remembers that! Of course he remembers that!” he yelled. I could practically see the smoke rising from his ears. I stumbled backward, raising up my hands to show that I had not meant to offend him. “Sorry,” he sighed, “I just can’t believe I’m back in this mess again. You can call me Lester if you want.” I lowered my hands back down and reached out my hand to him.

“I think we started off on the wrong foot. I’m Parker you can call me whatever you want as long as you don’t call me Park. Only one person is allowed to call me Park and it’s not you.” I said. He shook my hand and whispered, “Wow, you really don’t remember anything do you?”  _ A smiling person wearing a laurel wreath. A close friend that I had nicknamed “Mr. A” when introducing him. An insanely good archer quarreling with his twin sister about who could shoot arrows the farthest. _

“Where is your sister?” I asked, “I remember you had a twin sister.” He just shrugged and sat down on his bed. Confused and slightly embarrassed by his lack of response, I opened up my bag, which my captors had apparently tossed into the room while I was unconscious and took out a can of soda. “Care for a drink?” I asked awkwardly. When he still didn’t respond, I placed the soda can beside his bed and looked at the other cells. “Anybody there?” I yelled, trying to find somebody to talk with. A familiar cloaked figure appeared in front of me, just on the other side of the bars. 

“You won’t remember me, Parker, but I remember you. We had a deal and you are going to keep your side of it now.” it growled. Lester immediately ran over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t listen to it, D!” he whispered, “It’s trying to take advantage of you.”

“What deal?” I asked, ignoring Lester. “If you’ve come for me to do my part, then what did you do for me? I don’t do one-sided deals.”

“I gave you a life, Parker. I let you have a freedom you never knew you could have.” it replied, “Come with me. Let me have what I want from you.” The cell door opened and the figure stretched out their hand. “You won’t last long trapped in this filthy place. Join me Parker.” Lester put his hand in mine, pulling me back. I let go of his hand and turned to him angrily. “You can’t control me, Lester!” I put my hand into the hand of the cloaked figure. I walked away with it and didn’t look behind me. I would be more than just the son of Zeus. I would be more than the neglected son of some drunkard I barely even knew. I would just be Parker Johnson. I would be myself, whoever that turned out to be.  _ “Wow, you really don’t remember anything do you?” Lester’s voice sneered in my head. His face had been twisted and turned into something cruel and cold.  _

_ “No,” I replied. “But I can make new memories and this cloaked person can help me.” _

  
_ “He is taking advantage of you!” it replied, turning into another strangely familiar face.  _ Ignoring my doubts, I walked forward, seeing a new, bright future. I was wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the support! I will update again as soon as possible!


	5. Chapter 5

The last thing I remembered before the world went dark  _ again _ was glowing red eyes appearing from under the hood of the cloaked figure. When I woke up, a pair of curious, silver eyes stared back at me. “I know you,” the girl in front of me declared. I wanted her to explain, but I was too busy trying to remember her. “The people around here call me Art. You must be the latest project. They are very excited about the latest project.” I shuddered at the thought of all the things that she could mean by that, but she still didn’t seem to understand my body language.

“What do you mean? How do you know me? Where am I?” I asked, realizing that I needed to be clear and direct with her if I wanted to get my point across. Just before she answered, a group of people who looked like guards came in and threw their captive to the ground. “Percy!” I yelled pushing my way towards him as the guards explained that he had been found sneaking around their headquarters.  _ No, no, no! _

“Parker? What are you doing here?” he asked weakly, trying to get off the ground. I tried to help him, but the moment I moved towards him, one of the guards pointed a knife to my neck and asked Percy, “How do you know him?”  _ What is it with people and threatening my life? I can’t seem to go a day without having my life on the line anymore!  _

“That’s Parker. He was leading a quest I was on but ran off without warning.” Percy sighed, managing to save my life while telling me off at the same time. “He’s the demigod son of Zeus.” They all sneered, but thankfully, the knife was taken away from my fragile neck. They all laughed as they walked away, locking the steel door behind them. “Percy!” I half-sobbed, hugging him. “I’m so sorry! I’m so, so sorry!”

“Never scare me like that again, Parker!’ he laughed. “Guess what? I found out what is going on in this place!” I nodded, urging him to continue. He happily obliged, telling me, “Everybody other than us two are actually former gods, but these guys have somehow wiped their memories.”  _ The hooded figure that had tricked me was standing in front of me at the Maenads’ base, my hand was holding his. “I don’t think we’ve properly met. I’m Parker Johnson, son of Zeus. My friends, Pollux and Percy, are asleep right now, so you won’t be able to meet them right now,” I was boldly declaring.  _

“I think whoever did this has messed with my memories. This is not just about the greek gods, this is personal now.” I realised angrily. I walked around, taking a look at my fellow prisoners with new eyes. “That one’s Artemis, goddess of the hunt. She introduced herself ast Art. When I was captured by these other guys that might just work for this place, I met this guy I have faint memories of. I believe his name was … Lester,” I mumbled.

“Apollo. Lester was the mortal he became in his most recent punishment. How will you have known him?” Percy wondered. I only half-listened to his response, too busy looking around. I quickly got distracted from the task when I noticed that they had let me keep my bag. 

“Hey, Percy!” I laughed, “Have a drink!” Before he could answer, I drank the soda and threw him a bottle. In hindsight, I should have probably wondered why my cans of soda had been replaced by bottles of soda. Instead, like the naive idiot I was, I just drank it. It was the second time in this one quest that I let myself get drugged. I swore in ancient Greek before I slumped to the floor and started losing consciousness  _ again. This is getting really old. _

**  
  
**

I woke up chained up in an interrogation room with a bright light shining in my face. “How are you doing it? How are you remembering?” somebody angrily screamed. “Tell me! How?” I shook in fear at the sound of his loud, booming voice that reminded me of my father far too much. 

  
“I don’t know,” I whimpered, closing my eyes and trying to escape from the bright light and load voices as much as I could.  _ “You think that the punishment was not harsh enough, %$*!>^? Maybe I should give one to you and see whether it will work any better than your current one!” a glowing white light boomed. _ “I don’t know!” I repeated. 

“He’s useless,” the voice growled, “Kill him before he causes more trouble.” I shook as I heard the sound of a gun being loaded. “Let him go!” Lester yelled as he broke in through the window. “Let him go or your boss gets a bullet hole through the head!” The henchmen scrambled to release me and I practically crawled out of the window. 

“Hey Lester, I owe you one,” I sighed. 

“Good, because you are going to save the day this time, Park,” he snapped, not even looking at me as we were walking.

“Sure!” I laughed, too happy to be alive to care about nicknames and obligations. “Where do I start?”

“... Finding the cure for whatever they’ve done to the gods.” he answered.

“Already trying. Just tell me where the base is and I will get in,” I declared. I realized that I had become quite the expert at ignoring the odd looks Lester almost constantly gave me. It was time for me to follow a shooting star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. Going through a bit of a writer's block. I will update as soon as possible.


End file.
